


Fishcapades

by NinchillaSlayer1832



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Aquariums, Fish, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 12:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5457071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinchillaSlayer1832/pseuds/NinchillaSlayer1832
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grantaire really should have figured it out way before then.<br/>Then comes the proposal, Step 8? Well turns out it's really a piece of cake. Who knew?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fishcapades

            When Grantaire started dating Enjolras, he wasn’t expecting any big surprises. After years of flirting and a borderline-creepy obsession, Grantaire was quite confident he knew Enjolras pretty well. This assumption was correct, well, for the most part. What he wasn’t expecting was the fish, the crazy, absurd, obsession with fish. To this day Grantaire still has no idea how Enjolras hid this fact from Les Amis for so long.

            Everyone knew about the huge fish tank Enjolras had in his living room, one, because it was huge, and two, because Enjolras was very proud of it. What they were unaware of however, was this wasn’t just because they were the only pet he could keep alive. They were his obsession. All of the amis had one, and everyone assumed Enjolras’ was revolution. And while fish weren’t exactly the strangest, it was certainly unexpected.

 

* * *

 

 

            The first time Grantaire had an inkling of Enjolras’ love for fish happened exactly one month after they started dating. They had gone to the fair where, as always, there were carnival games. And as always, Grantaire loved being ridiculously romantic and cliché, though he insists it’s mockingly of course. This meant he had to play all the games until he won Enjolras the biggest prize, or he ran out of money, whichever came first. Luckily for him it didn’t take long.

            Enjolras somehow managed to win the first game. Although if you ask Grantaire, it was only because he’s a dirty cheater. Enjolras on the other hand, claimed the rules never said anything about tickling the competition to make them miss the target with their water gun. That’s how Grantaire ended up with a fuzzy green teddy bear he named Melon.

            Grantaire made sure the next game was one where he would definitely beat Enjolras. Which is how they came to the very uncreatively named, “Test of Strength.” Enjolras, for as fiery and passionate as he is, could not make it passed the green bar. Grantaire, however, was feeling very confident that he could hit the bell. All the time he worked out with, and often subsequently was beat up by, Bahorel would finally pay off when he won Enjolras one off those huge stuffed animals. When he did ring the bell, Grantaire discovered it also paid off in the wonderful kiss he received. And the even better one he got when Enjolras discovered one of the options was a giant red fish, quickly named Frank and who became Melon’s best friend.

            As they were leaving they saw the ring toss. It seemed to be a trap set especially for Enjolras. Not only did the proceeds go to charity, the prize was a real live goldfish. Of course after seeing this, the blond had no other choice than to make Grantaire win him one. Although he grumbled, the happiness Enjolras exuded when Grantaire agreed was contagious. His knowledge on how to acclimate the fish to its new home was what made Grantaire seriously reflect and observe his boyfriend’s relationship with fish.

            Over the next few weeks, Grantaire began to notice the specific quirks Enjolras had only when around, or talking about or to fish. Which is also when he began to notice just how much the topic of fish came up with their group of friends. Grantaire wasn’t quite sure, as he had no frame of reference, but he was quite certain it was a lot more than normal. He also noticed how it was only when Enjolras, who seemed to be very educated on the topic, was around. The way he talked about his own fish was very similar to a mother about her child, or maybe Combeferre and his eclipse of moths, which should have been very telling.

 

            It all came to head when they went to the aquarium. Grantaire wasn’t sure he had ever seen Enjolras so excited about anything, except maybe revolution. As it turned out, Enjolras had a premium membership to the aquarium. Seeing as he had no idea there were any kind of memberships to the aquarium, one could say Grantaire was a little more than slightly surprised.

            When they got there, Enjolras wasted no time in dragging Grantaire around to all his favorite exhibits, with very informative commentary along the way. To Grantaire, the endless, dim hallways of tanks seemed like an unsolvable maze, though it seemed Enjolras had no problem figuring it out. It didn’t take long for Grantaire to realize out his boyfriend knew exactly where they were going without even glancing at a sign or map.

            It got even stranger when they went to the food court for lunch. All the staff seemed to know Enjolras, from the cashiers, to the janitors, to the two guys eating lunch at the corner table wearing lab coats and most likely worked there. At first, Grantaire didn’t think much of it, Enjolras seemed to know people everywhere, often in the strangest places, but the sheer amount of people he knew started to raise some flags.

            After lunch they went up to the top of the tanks. Enjolras brought them over to where they were feeding the sharks without being stopped by any of the scientist looking people up there. The scientist dude gave Enjolras the food bucket without even looking up. When Enjolras started acting like a little kid on Christmas, Grantaire knew he had to find out what was going on with his boyfriend.

            They stayed at the aquarium until closing. On the way home, having no idea how to bring it up, Grantaire spent the whole ride silent, deep in thought. When they pulled up to Enjolras’ apartment, Enjolras was fidgety and nervous seeing as his boyfriend was almost never silent; he was always rambling or babbling on about something. They both stayed in the car staring at each other, not moving, until Grantaire decided to just wing it, like he did with most tings .

“So…uh…you go to the aquarium a lot huh?” he asked fighting to keep looking the blond in the eye.

“Uh…yeah…I…uh…I really like fish? Ummm…yeah…” He replied, staring down at his fidgeting hands like they held the secret of life.

“Oh.”

It took a few seconds for it to all click in his mind, thinking of the fish at the fair, all the absurd fish facts, and how he seemed to know the aquarium better than his own house.

“Huh. I think I probably should have realized that before now.” He paused a moment before leaning over to give Enjolras a peck on the lips, before finally getting out of the car, pulling Enjolras inside with him.

 

* * *

 

 

Years later when Grantaire finally decided to propose, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. Well not exactly, but he knew it would involve fish somehow.

            Over the past few years of their relationship, Grantaire had been dragged to the aquarium (usually quite willingly because he couldn’t resist how happy Enjolras got each time, not to mention how his face lit up at each tank every single time, no matter how many times he had seen them) so many times to know it like the back of his hand. Although Grantaire never knew the significance of that term because he didn’t really spend much time looking at the back of his hands.

            So one day while Enjolras was at work, he was wandering around the aquarium, visiting all of Enjolras’ favorite places, searching for ideas. After hours without a single good idea, he sat down and stared at his boyfriend’s favorite tank, the one that looked like a coral reef. Well he wasn’t really staring, more like glaring, willing the fish to give him some ideas. When that didn’t work, he decided to give up for the day and go home.

            When he got up to the top of the tank to say bye to Billy, the scientist dude he became friends with after talking to him every time Enjolras fed the fish, is when he finally had the epiphany he had been searching weeks for. Watching the scuba diver jump in to clean the tank, he had what Billy would later describe as a really freaky grin on. The only thing left to do was get Billy and the scuba divers to help pull it off…and well the actual proposing bit. But thinking about that made Grantaire want to pass out so he decided to ignore that for now.

 

* * *

 

 

            Waking up before his boyfriend for once, Grantaire immediately feet nauseous when he realized what day it was. He hadn’t told any of their friends his plan, fearing they would let it slip, or show up at the aquarium and make a scene. He couldn’t decide which scenario would be worse, so he kept it to himself. However, he was starting to regret his decision a bit because he could really use some support. Knowing he was too nervous about the proposal to fall back asleep, he very carefully detached himself from Enjolras, who turned into and octopus while he slept, and got in the shower.

            He turned the water on as hot as he could stand and scrubbed himself clean, and then did it three more times, trying to calm his nerves. When he got out, making sure to shake his hair out like a dog as always, he dried off and shaved before brushing his teeth three times as well. He put on his favorite green sweater Enjolras had given him for his birthday last year, that supposedly “does very nice things for his eyes and biceps” and his last pair of paint free jeans that also supposedly “did very nice things for his butt,” according to his boyfriend.

Shaking out his nerves, he stood in front of the mirror and went over his checklist for the day.

 **Step 1:** Shower

Check

 **Step 2:** Breakfast in bed

 **Step 3:** Aquarium

 **Step 4:** Keep Enjolras from going to the top until after he proposes

 **Step 5A:** Keep Enjolras from going to his favorite exhibit until 4:30

 **Step 5B:** Ponder why he thought it was okay to wait until 4:30

 **Step 6:** Try not to freak out and puke or pass out because he has to make it that long through the day

 **Step 7:** Make sure Enjolras doesn’t look at him until Walter, Ava, and Sammy the Scuba Diver get to the bottom of the tank

 **Step 8:** Propose

 **Step 9A:** If he says yes, go brag at the Musain

 **Step 9B:** If he says no, go to Éponine’s and cry his eyes out until he can no longer see

 **Step 10A:** If he says yes, leave the Musain to go home and have hot, steamy, newly engaged sex

 **Step 10B:** If he says no, keep crying until he drowns in his own tears

 _Ten steps. I can get through this._ He thought to himself, staring at himself in the mirror.

            “Okay, breakfast” he mumbled to himself. “I can do this. French toast. It’s Enj’s favorite, I’ve made it a million times, so I won’t mess it up.” He took a deep breath and one last look at himself in the mirror, slipped the ring he got a few weeks ago into his pocket, and headed to the kitchen.

            Looking at the finished breakfast tray, he stepped back to admire his best work yet. He grabbed the tray, careful not to spill anything, and headed back to their bedroom, pausing at the door to take one last deep breath before pushing it open. Enjolras, having smelled the food, was slowly waking up, scrunching up his face and blinking rapidly to get used to the light. Setting the tray on the bedside table, Grantaire slid into bed, pulling the covers back on top of them, placed the tray on the blonde’s lap, and was pulled into a deep kiss by his boyfriend.

“Did I forget something? Why is there breakfast? Why does it smell so good?” Enjolras murmured into Grantaire’s collarbone, grabbing the fork and digging in.

“No reason, just feeling extra nice today,” he replied wrapping an arm around his shoulders and placing a kiss to his temple.

“Mmmmm, I love you.” The fiery leader mumbled, letting out a deep moan through his first bite.

“I love you too babe,” Grantaire grinned, forgetting all about his nerves as they bantered while they ate.

 _Well that’s step one and two done without a hitch, now onto step four, I can do this_ he psyched himself up, getting into the car.

            Step three was easy. It was just like any of their numerous other dates there. The entire staff was grinning at the pair the whole day however. Luckily Enjolras didn’t seem to notice, the novelty of the place having still not worn off, wearing the cutest grin that made Grantaire’s stomach flip and put a goofy smile on his own face. He couldn’t keep from grinning back at everyone either.

            Step four was where it started to get a little difficult, causing his nerves to make a reappearance. After lunch, having waited until 2 to avoid the crowd, they would usually head up to help feed the fish.

“Can we go see the penguins now?” Grantaire asked, hoping his plan would work.

“But it’s feeding time!” Enjolras replied, just on the edge of a whine.

“I know, but I really want to go out and see them,” giving his best puppy dog eyes, looking at his fish obsessed boyfriend through the edge of his dark curls.

“Fine, but only because I love you and you made me breakfast,” he groaned sticking his tongue out. “But we’re going to the reef next.”

            Grantaire didn’t even try to hold back his grin, pulling his boyfriend into a kiss and dragging him outside to the penguins. Step 4? Check. Perfect.

            After having seen the seal show and the penguins, glancing down at his watch, he realized it was already 4:10. They had spent over an hour outside penguin watching, like people watching, but with penguins, one of Grantaire’s favorite activities since starting their frequent aquarium trips.

            Time for step six, the easy part, after that well, he was trying hard not to think about that and avoid freaking out and hyperventilating. Patting his pocket to make sure he still had the ring, he let his boyfriend drag him back inside to his favorite tank, the one Grantaire was dreading today.

            Cuddling up to Enjolras on one of the benches in front of the tank as the blonde rambled off fish facts to the family sitting next to them, he felt some of his nerves start to dissipate, it was now or never. But the butterflies in his stomach seemed to double as they announced the scuba divers coming down. He saw John the Janitor off to the side, pulling out a video camera, grinning. He pulled Enjolras up to the tank, in front of the forming crown, and offered a small, shaky smile in return.

            As the divers started to descend and Lizzy, the announcer told the crowd how it was a special event today, Grantaire couldn’t breathe. When he saw the signs that would stay facing the back of the tank until they reached the bottom, he finally drew a shaky breath and glanced over at Enjolras, who was bouncing up and down, too entranced by the “special event” to notice.

 _Okay, time for step 8._ Grantaire let out his breath and suddenly felt calm and excited. The signs flipped over and the crowd let out a big cheer. He took another glance at his boyfriend, soon to be fiancé, well, hopefully. Grantaire quickly turned toward Enjolras, pulled put the ring and got down on one knee as the fish started to come and investigate the signs and greet the crowd, the blonde’s favorite part.

            “Awww, isn’t that so cu…” Enjolras started as he turned toward his boyfriend, freezing when he saw him with the ring. After a second he put on a painfully big smile, making Grantaire calmer than he had been since before he bought the ring, returning his smile with equal intensity. The crowd was deathly silent as Grantaire took one final deep breath.

“Marry Me?” He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

Enjolras started nodding so hard Grantaire was worried he might give himself a concussion, still not able to speak.

            “Of course, you absolute fool,” Enjolras practically shouted, pulling him in for a bruising kiss, clanking their teeth together as neither one could stop grinning, as he threw his arms around his neck. The crowd let out another huge cheer.

            They finally pulled apart when the cheering died down, not that either of them had noticed, as they were too preoccupied with each other. Grantaire slipped the ring onto his fiancé’s finger. Both had shaky hands, and cheeks starting to hurt from too much smiling so hard. _Step 8? Check._

            “I love you so much,” Enjolras whispered, pulling him into another, softer kiss, his hands cupping his cheeks as Grantaire wrapped his arms around him.

            As the crowd dissipated, they stood there for a while longer just holding each other. _The verdict for step 8? Absolute perfection,_ Grantaire thought to himself as he buried his head in Enjolras’ ridiculously blonde, curly head.

“I love you,” Enjolras spoke softly, nuzzling into his fiancé’s neck, “loads more than fish.”

“I love you,” he replied placing another lingering kiss on his head.

            They were congratulated by all the staff on their way out. Looking forward to all the excited shrieking, squealing, cheering, and whining about not being in the loop from all of their friends, they walked hand in hand to the car, and drove off to share their wonderful day with their friends. And then promptly left for their hot, steamy, newly engaged sex of course.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a Tumblr prompt a while ago:  
> Person A is obsessed with fish  
> Person B takes them to a huge aquarium  
> Person B gets scuba divers with signs to ask Person A to marry them


End file.
